Few images are as powerfully representative of technological progress as the robot.
Once upon a time, robots were just a pipe dream in the human imagination.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that SRI International, a Silicon Valley-based company, built the first robot. “Shakey” was a tower on wheels that moved at a slow, twitchy and awkward pace. And it marked the (shaky) start of a new era in technology.
Some 60 years later, researchers at Aalto University and Ote Robotics have created a new robot called “RealAnt.” And it’s significantly smoother than its jerky predecessor.
RealAnt can autonomously learn to walk and can be trained to execute a wide range of tasks. And, importantly for researchers, it’s cheap.
According to Ote Robotics co-founder Jussi Sainio, “It is one of the easiest platforms to get started with reinforcement learning and real-world robots. The main advantage of the RealAnt platform is that it is readily and affordably available.”
Progress like this ensures researchers can continue to study and build different robotic platforms… all in the name of making our lives easier.
Shakey and RealAnt are perfect examples of the power of innovation. They’ve shown us that innovation can change the course of human history. And it will only continue.
That’s why Alexander Green is a rational optimist. As he put it…
In today’s world, human beings, technology and capital markets act as a comprehensive problem-solving machine, making our lives easier, longer, healthier, safer and richer.
Innovation and capital markets are tied closely together. So as scientists and researchers make new discoveries, the companies that back them inevitably benefit.
Those companies, known as momentum stocks, are powered by innovation. And the more technological progress we make, the richer we become.
Since momentum stocks are such a profitable endeavor, we wanted to know: Are you investing in momentum stocks?
More than 70% responded “yes” in our Twitter poll. And a large number responded the same way on Facebook.
You can learn more about momentum stocks in Alex’s recent article here. And you can check out the results of this week’s poll on Twitter and Facebook.
Stay tuned for our next poll.
And remember…
What is now proved was once only imagined. – William Blake